STORMERS TRAP CLAY: Blommetjies misses late conversion as Stormers go down to Bulls

BY VOICE SPORTS TEAM

A MISSED conversion kick by replacement Clayton Blommetjies saw the Stormers trap klei 33-32 against the Bulls at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

When flanker BJ Dixon barged over for the Kaapenaars’ fifth try next to the sticks in the last minute, it seemed that victory was in the bag for coach John Dobson’s hosts.

But Blommetjies was off radar, as the Bulls consolidated their third place on the United Rugby Championship standings.

Both teams produced gutsy performances in what was a thriller of a game from the outset - with the Bulls holding a narrow 18-17 halftime lead.

The victory for the men from Pretoria was their first in six attempts in the URC in Cape Town.

The Stormers will be bitterly disappointed by the defeat - especially as better goal kicking would have surely seen them secure a win after outscoring the visitors by five tries to four, three of which were scored in the second half – but there was some reprieve as they earned two bonus points, which allowed them to jump into 10th place on the standings with 23 points.

The Bulls were particularly strong in the scrums, and they also looked good on attack as the backs and forwards combined well, but the Stormers also showed great enterprise and intent on attack. This combined with tenacious defensive efforts at times saw both teams squander possible try-scoring opportunities.

It was a ding-dong battle from the start as the one team scored and the other responded, with Cobus Wiese and Jan-Hendrik Wessels scoring tries for the Bulls in the first half to add to two penalty goals by David Kriel, while Frans Malherbe and Salmaan Moerat scored for the Capetonians to add to a penalty goal by Jurie Matthee.

The visitors struck first again in the second half with a try by Harold Vorster to extend their lead, but the Stormers took full advantage of a yellow card to Gerhard Steenekamp in the 54th minute to score two tries in three minutes, by Evan Roos and Warrick Gelant.

Ruan Vermaak’s 70th minute try and another penalty goal by Kriel gave the visitors a six-point cushion towards the end, but the hosts refused to give up and made it a one-point game when Dixon went over two minutes left to play.

But then Blommetjies pushed the conversion attempt wide.